Crosby Adds Richard, Messier Awards to Trophy Case

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Sidney Crosby continued his quest of the NHL’s “Grand Slam” of awards after taking home two new pieces of hardware from the 2010 NHL Awards at the Pearl Concert Theatre inside the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Crosby had previously (co-)claimed the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring champion after posting a career-high 51 goals in the 2009-10 season.

Sidney Crosby on the red carpet at the 2010 NHL Awards in Las Vegas/Getty Images

Crosby later added his first Mark Messier Leadership Award, which recognizes a superior leader in hockey and as a contributing member of society.

"(Messier) is the guy that you think of when you think of leadership on and off the ice with the type of person that he is," Crosby said. "It's a real honor for him to select me for that award. I really appreciate that.

"It's an area where you're never going to stop learning. Being a young captain, that's encouraging."

At the young age of 22, Crosby now has six awards in his trophy case. The Richard and Messier will soon sit next to the Art Ross (scoring champion), Hart (league MVP), Ted Lindsay (best player as voted by his peers) and, of course, the most precious metal of all – the Stanley Cup.

The Messier Awards honors an individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes.

Crosby completed yet another spectacular season for Pittsburgh. As well as leading the league with 51 goals (tying Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos), Crosby placed second in the league with 109 points.
On top of that, he scored the decisive goal in overtime to give Team Canada the gold medal in the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament.

While many are familiar with his on-ice accomplishments, Crosby also leads by example off the ice with his extensive charitable work within the community. In each of the past two seasons, he has teamed up with the Penguins and Dick’s Sporting Goods to introduce hockey to local youngsters by outfitting 600 area children (ages 5-7) from head to toe with free hockey gear through the Little Penguins “Learn to Play Hockey” program.

Crosby also purchased a suite for every Penguins' home game for the past three seasons that he uses to donate to various children's charities and underprivileged kids. He gives time generously during the season for Penguins’ related charitable causes including: the Make-A-Wish Foundation; Project Bundle-up; Penguins’ Charity practice and luncheon; several hospital visits and several postgame meet and greets for various charities. He also most recently established his own foundation that focus on youth charities (Sidney Crosby Foundation).

The Cole Harbour native recently was honored by his home province with the Order of Nova Scotia for his community service, another first for someone his age.